Upper Darby man on shooting of girlfriend: 'If I could, I would take it back'

Michael DeLuca, of the 7400 block of West Chester Pike, reportedly a member of the Warlocks Motorcycle Club, also pleaded to a felony charge of persons not to possess a firearm, possession of an instrument of crime and criminal trespass in an unrelated matter.

MEDIA COURTHOUSE -- An Upper Darby man pleaded guilty Tuesday to aggravated assault and related charges for shooting his girlfriend in the head in May.

Michael DeLuca, of the 7400 block of West Chester Pike, reportedly a member of the Warlocks Motorcycle Club, also pleaded to a felony charge of persons not to possess a firearm, possession of an instrument of crime and criminal trespass in an unrelated matter.

DeLuca, a convicted felon who had previously served two prison terms and is legally barred from owning a gun, called police around 8:45 p.m. May 14 to report the shooting.

He told arriving officers that he and the victim were smoking marijuana on a couch in the apartment they shared when he felt something in the couch and removed a .38-caliber handgun. He said the gun was cocked and it accidentally went off, striking the victim in the head.

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DeLuca later told police he was unloading the gun when it went off. Two other witnesses claimed to hear sounds of banging, yelling and arguing coming from the apartment for up to half an hour before hearing the shot and a male voice saying, "Get up, get up."

The victim was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in extremely critical condition, but recovered following emergency surgery.

DeLuca told Judge Kevin F. Kelly that it was "a disgrace" to be before him, apologizing to his girlfriend and the court for wasting its time.

"If I could, I would take it back in a second," he said.

Under the plea worked out between Assistant District Attorney Meghan Wagner and defense attorney Dave Iannucci, DeLuca was sentenced to five to 10 years in a state correctional facility with five years of consecutive state probation.

Iannucci also asked that a no-contact order attached to a bail order be lifted so the victim could visit DeLuca in prison, but Kelly indicated that would not be necessary once the sentence was imposed.